Topic 2 Hardware Revision

Topic 2 Hardware Revision

1. 2.1 Input and Output Devices

   • Input
     • Examples
       • Mouse
       • Keyboard
       • Microphone
       • Touch Pad
     • A device that inputs data into a computer
   • Input & Output
     • Examples
       • TouchScreen
         • E.g. SmartPhone
       • Headset
         • Speakers
         • Microphone
   • Output
     • Examples
       • Screen
       • Speakers
       • Printer
       • Projector
     • A device that outputs data from a computer

2. 2.2 Assistive Technology

   • Technology that assists those with dissabilities
   • Examples
     • Microphone
     • Joystick
     • EyeTyper
     • Foot Mouse
     • Braille Keyboard & Printer

3. 2.3 Secondary Storage

   • A device that stores data for the computer
   • Examples
     • Flash Memory (solid state)
       • E.g. Solid State Memory Stick
       • Pros
         • Portable
         • Durable
         • Uses direct memory
       • Cons
         • Expensive
     • Magnetic Tape
       • Pros
         • Can store up to a Terabyte
       • Cons
         • Uses Serial/Sequntial Memory

4. 2.4 The CPU

   • Computers require input hardware, processing hardware and output hardware. The hardware that defines a computer is the CPU and memory.
   • There are four key factors about CPU architecture that affect its performance:
     • Number of Cores
       • A CPU can contain one or more processing units. Each unit is called a core. Each core contains an ALU, Control unit and registers. It is common for computers to have two (dual), four (quad) or even more cores.
       • CPUs with multiple cores have more power to run multiple programs at the same time.
     • Clock Speed
       • Computers can only do one thing at a time. It may appear that many things are happening simultaneously.
     • Processor type
     • Cache size

5. 2.5 Binary Logic

6. 2.6 Virtual Memory